The Cambridge Companion to African American Women's Literature

by Edited by Angelyn Mitchell , Danille K. Taylor

• ISBN13: 9780521858885
• ISBN10: 0521858887
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-05-25
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The Cambridge Companion to African American Women's Literature covers a period dating back to the eighteenth century. These specially commissioned essays highlight the artistry, complexity and diversity of a literary tradition that ranges from Lucy Terry to Toni Morrison. A wide range of topics are addressed, from the Harlem Renaissance to the Black Arts Movement, and from the performing arts to popular fiction. Together, the essays provide an invaluable guide to a rich, complex tradition of women writers in conversation with each other as they critique American society and influence American letters. Accessible and vibrant, with the needs of undergraduate students in mind, this Companion will be of great interest to anybody who wishes to gain a deeper understanding of this important and vital area of American literature.

Table of Contents

List of contributors	p. ix
Acknowledgements	p. xii
Chronology of major works and events	p. xiii
Introduction	p. 1
History, Contexts, and Criticism	p. 13
Early African American women's literature	p. 15
Women of the Harlem Renaissance	p. 32
Women writers of the Black Arts movement	p. 50
Contemporary African American women writers	p. 71
African American feminist theories and literary criticism	p. 87
Genre, Gender, and Race	p. 107
African American women and the United States slave narrative	p. 109
Autobiography and African American women's literature	p. 128
"Even some fiction might be useful": African American women novelists	p. 150
African American women poets and the power of the word	p. 168
African American women in the performing arts	p. 187
African American women writers of children's and young adult literature	p. 210
African American women essayists	p. 224
African American women writers and the short story	p. 245
African American women writers and popular fiction: theorizing black womanhood	p. 262
Bibliography	p. 278
Index	p. 301
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